MANUFACTURED COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 523 



Phosphoric acid, available, at 7 c. per lb $1.40 per unit 



Phosphoric acid, insoluble from bone, at 5 c. per Ib i.oo per unit 



Phosphoric acid, insoluble from rock, at i c. per lb 20 per unit 



Potash, actual, at 6c. per lb 1.20 per unit 



"Multiplying the minimum guarantees with the above valuations per unit, the 

 total is the relative value per ton of 2000 pounds." 



Of these fertilizers, the "Special Bone Meal," containing 12 per 

 cent of phosphorus, is a fair grade of steamed bone meal, and the 

 "Garden City Phosphate" containing 6.1 per cent of available 

 phosphorus and less than | per cent of insoluble phosphorus 

 represents the most common grade of acid phosphate on the mar- 

 ket. At the prices given, a pound of phosphorus would cost about 

 ii cents in steamed bone meal and about 16 cents in acid phosphate. 

 In some cases different brands have the same composition, even 

 where sold by the same company. In fact, some of the larger 

 fertilizer companies sell a dozen different brands of the same com- 

 position, so that the total number of brands sold by all companies 

 is very large, amounting to about 900 in the state of Indiana and 

 to more than 1800 in Georgia, which only emphasizes the fact that 

 most farmers purchase fertilizers by name rather than on the basis 

 of plant food. Probably half of all the fertilizers bought by 

 American farmers have as an average the " 2-8-2 formula," as 

 in the " Superphosphate " and " Eagle Wheat and Corn Grower." 

 In some states, as in Illinois, a deficiency of i per cent below the 

 miminum guarantee is " not considered evidence of fraudulent 

 intent," but greater deficiencies subject the dealer to a severe pen- 

 alty if prosecuted. (See Model Fertilizer Law, in the Appendix.) 

 In most states the burden of " fertilizer inspection and control " 

 is placed upon the agricultural experiment station, and some- 

 times this burden has almost prevented the stations from con- 

 ducting investigations concerning the soils of the state or in other 

 important lines where exact information is needed. In other states, 

 as in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois, the enforcement of fertilizer 

 laws is placed with the State Board of Agriculture, and the ex- 

 periment station is left free to conduct agricultural experiments 

 and investigations. It may be added that there is grave doubt if 

 the agricultural investigator should be compelled to depend, either 

 in large part or in small part, upon the income from tonnage tax 



